THE STORY: Ages ago, Noah and his wife took their kids to the amusement park “Freedomland.” After that trip, Noah’s wife ran off and left him to raise the family. Now a retired professor of religion, Noah has married Claude, a sex therapist, and lives a secluded life in the family farmhouse. Breaking this seclusion are Noah’s two daughters and son who return home for an impromptu reunion. Polly, an eternally lost Greek-studies major, is the first to arrive. In pursuit is her ferocious sister Sigrid, a painter of clowns, with a befuddled magazine interviewer in tow. Soon after, their brother, Seth, a survivalist, arrives with a backwoods pregnant girlfriend. An overdue showdown between Seth and his father sets off fireworks that illuminate the neurosis, rage and anxiety of one family—and of America at the turn of the millennium.
“FREEDOMLAND’s more obvious links are to
Buried Child and
Bosoms and Neglect. Freed, like Guare, is an inspired wordsmith with a gift for surreal touches in situations grounded in familiar and real territory.” —CurtainUp.
